An open letter from fifty-two members of the Oberlin Group of Library Directors to Scientific American expressing concern about the effects of recent price increases. (October 14, 2009):
An open letter from fifty-two members of the Oberlin Group of Library Directors to Scientific American expressing concern about the effects of recent price increases. (October 14, 2009)
The letter states: “We the undersigned are all library directors of liberal arts college libraries and members of the Oberlin Group, a consortium of eighty selective liberal arts college libraries in the United States. As such we are concerned with the education of tens of thousands of undergraduate students each year. A twenty-first century liberal arts education includes an understanding of the scientific and technological underpinnings of our society. We seek to provide the students and faculty of our institutions with access to a broad range of scientific literature, including accessible, popular scientific journalism. As such, your increase in the 2010 subscription price for Scientific American magazine from $39.95 to $299 in print and from $1,000 to $1500 (depending on the size of the college) for an annual license for the online version of the magazine is unreasonable and hinders our ability to meet the information needs of our library users.” (read the full letter in the .pdf file below)
Related articles include:
- “Scientific American Price Change Defended; Oberlin Group Not Convinced” – Library Journal, October 22, 2009
- Response from Nature Publishing Group – October 19, 2009
- “Library Directors Protest ‘Scientific American’ Prices” – Insider Higher Ed. Quick takes, October 14, 2009
- “College Library Directors Protest Huge Jump in ‘Scientific American’ Price” – Chronicle of Higher Education, October 13, 2009
- “College Librarians Protest STM Pricing for consumer Magazine Scientific American” – Library Journal, October 13, 2009